MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — As soon as students walk into Waco High and University High, they’ll see a vape-dropping station to help keep our local kids safe and in school.
- A Texas law requires schools to place students who are caught with vape products in alternative schooling or a disciplinary program, which is why VASA, voices advocating for substance awareness, is offering a way for teens to come clean before they get caught.
- According to the TEA, 188 e-cigarette incidents were recorded within Waco ISD in the 2023-2024 school year.
- A couple of Waco ISD students believe the vape drop boxes will positively affect their peers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
One of the first things Waco High School students see when they walk in through the school doors is these vape drop boxes.
“In the schools, it’s become an epidemic; it’s getting worse," community coordinator with VASA Voices Gena Stier said, who advocates for substance awareness.
"And as time goes by, there’s always something changing."
A Texas law requires schools to place students who are caught with vape products in alternative schooling or a disciplinary program, which is why VASA, voices advocating for substance awareness, is offering a way for teens to come clean before they get caught.
“It’s kind of one of those things that makes you second guess your actions,” Waco High Junior Karyme Reyes said.
Karyme Reyes is a junior at Waco High School and believes it’s not just a distraction for those who use vapes.
“If you were trying to go to the restroom during a passing period, you were going to be late to class because of how full the restrooms would be with people vaping and stuff,” said Reyes.
In the 2023-2024 school year, 188 e-cigarette incidents were recorded within Waco ISD, but Reyes said she’s noticed a difference since the law was implemented.
“That has minimized a lot like the restrooms' crowd isn’t as big. You don’t walk into the restroom and automatically smell like the flavors,” Reyes said.
And now, with the vape drop boxes, Reyes and her peers believe this box at the school’s entry serves as a reminder for students to be aware of what they’re putting in their bodies while also keeping them in school by giving up a vape device without any consequences.
"It’s also going to have a positive impact on our environment because we all know the effects that vapes have as they can explode," Karyme said.
"They have chemicals and many other things that can harm the people that use them and everyone around them."
Waco ISD PD will be in charge of when the drop box gets cleared out, and after that, Gena Stier said they will be incinerated.
A Waco ISD Police officer said a student placed a vape device in the box within 10 minutes of the box being installed.
